Pocket Prince
May 1940. }} The Pocket Prince is a Japanese folding camera taking 4×6.5 pictures on 127 film, advertised in 1939 and 1940 by the distributor Fukada Shōkai. Dates: , p.340. Description The Pocket Prince is a vertical folder copied from the Agfa Billy 0. The metal struts have a curved slot guiding the front standard when folding the bed. There is a folding frame finder in the middle of the top plate. The key to wind the film is at the bottom right, as seen by a photographer holding the camera horizontally. Variations are known in the position of the folding bed release, which is either next to the advance knob or on the opposite side. The back is hinged to the left and contains a single uncovered red window in the middle, with a hexagonal shape, the same as on the Billy 0. The camera was available with various lens and shutter combinations, discussed in the next sections. Manufacturer The Pocket Prince is usually attributed to Fujimoto, , item 1233, and , p.331. as other cameras with the Prince brand, but this is not confirmed by any original document. Other sources attribute the camera to "Prince Camera Works", , p.340. but this was not the name of any actual company, only a dummy name used for promotional purpose (see Camera Works). The Speed Pocket made from 1936 by Kuribayashi and distributed by Minagawa is extremely similar to the Pocket Prince, but has provision for 3×4cm exposures and decorative patterns on the top and bottom plates and on the standing leg. The two cameras are perhaps related, and Kuribayashi maybe worked as a subcontractor for Fukada. Commercial life The Pocket Prince was advertised in from August 1939 to October 1940. , p.340. In the October 1939 advertisement, the camera is announced as a new product, along with various other models distributed by Fukada. Advertisement reproduced in , p.91. The lens and shutter is not specified, but the picture shows a Radionar lens and Prontor II shutter. (This picture was reused on later advertisements, and is reproduced in this page.) It is said that the camera was available with a Radionar f/4.5 and either the Prontor II or a Compur. The advertisements dated April and May 1940, reproduced above, show the Pocket Prince and Doris (3×4). Advertisements in April 1940, p.A56, and May 1940, p.A29. That dated April is reproduced in , p.80. The Pocket Prince is offered for with a Baron 75/4.5 lens and a Kerio shutter (25, 50, 100, 150, T, B). The August 1940 advertisement gives the same information. Advertisement reproduced in , p.80. In the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, the Pocket Prince is listed for ¥69, with no further detail. , type 2, section 6B. This is the last mention of the camera found in the original documents. Actual examples One example is pictured in with a Prontor II shutter (175–1, B, T) and a Schneider Radionar 7.5cm f/4.5 lens. Example pictured in , item 1233. On that particular example, the folding bed release is placed next to the advance key. There is a black accessory shoe at the right end of the top plate, which is probably not original. Another camera is identified as a Speed Pocket in various sources. Example pictured in , item 1052, Baird, pp.99–101 of Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras, , p.577 and Lewis, p.51. This identification is very unlikely and the camera is certainly a Pocket Prince. It has none of the distinguishing features of the Speed Pocket: "art-deco" patterns on the top and bottom plates and on the standing leg, and SPEED brand embossed at the front. Furthermore, it has a Baron Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5 lens in a Kerio shutter, just like the Pocket Prince. On this camera, the folding bed release is on the same side as the viewfinder — this configuration is the same as on the picture displayed in the advertisements. Notes Bibliography Original documents * . Advertisements by Fukada Shōkai: ** April 1940, p.A56; ** May 1940, p.A29. * Type 2, section 6B. Recent sources * Item 230. (See also the advertisements for item 155.) * Pp.99–101. * P.51. * Pp.331 and 577. * Items 1052 and 1233. Category: Japanese 4x6.5 viewfinder folding Category: P Category: 1939